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Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh was carjacked and beaten late Thursday as he was returning from a conference, his campaign manager said.

Aboul Fotouh was being driven on a highway when a car carrying masked gunmen intercepted him, said Ali Behnasawy, the campaign manager.

The suspects pulled the driver out of the car and beat him with their guns. Aboul Fotouh tried to intervene and he was also beaten, Behnasawy said. The gunmen then stole the car and fled.

Aboul Fotouh was taken to a hospital and was in an intensive care unit because of a head injury, the campaign manager said. Aboul Fotouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, announced his candidacy last year in the presidential election scheduled for June.